Refrigeration evaporator



Aug l 1950 Yc. H. `KAI-ER Er A1. 2,517,212

REF'RIGERATION EYAPORTOR @gef/5 Y N e, u vaMf m m4 y. m2 2, n mu m 0 2 i 7 R wml f no m Mm KT m am Aug. l, 1950 Filed out. 31, 1945 Patented Aug. l, `1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGEBATION EVAPORATOR Clare H. Kafer and Howard D. White, Adrian, Mich., assignors to Revco, Inc., Deerfield, Mich.

Application October 31, 1945, Serial No. 625,798

5 Claims. (Cl. 257-208) This invention relates to a refrigerator evapo Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line I--4 of rator, and it has particular reference to the pro- Fig. 3, illustrating further the multiple clamp; vision of an expander tube and cooling tank as- Fig. 4a is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing sembly wherein the expansion coil is firmly and the relative positions of the parts before final simply secured to the tank or storage shell. 5 assembly; and,

It has heretofore been proposed to locate the Fig. 5 is a section taken on the linie 5-5 of coils forming the expansion element of a mechan- Fig. 3. ical refrigeration machine along or around a box, The invention is illustrated as being organized thereby to provide good heat transfer and refrig with a tank II, having end walls I2, front and eration between the fluid in the coils and the l back walls I3, a bottom Il and an open top I5. comestibles stored within the box. Typical ex- While, as herein shown, it is assumed that access amples are found -in the common domestic or to the tank will be from the top, as in a bottle household machine, for making ice cubes, or in cooler or cold storage cabinet, it will of course be the coils employed to cool a tank in which bottled understood that the box may be turned on its side beverages or bulk foods may be stored. In a l or end, as in the case of a domestic food storage number of these proposals, the structure essenor ice making compartment.

tially consists of a sheet metal box on which the The box walls may be made of sheet metal, coil is wrapped or convoluted so as to engage with three contiguous walls formed from one spaced regions of the box wall. While this is a sheet of stock by a simple braking operation, desirable structure from the viewpoint of simwhile the other two walls may be cut to size and .plicity of construction, it is open to practical obsuitably assembled. In the instant case, it may jections from the standpoint of cost. be noted that the front, back, and bottom walls It is well understood that, unless the coils are are shown as being formed from one sheet of Vheld in goodr physical contact with the box wall, stock, and that the front and back walls are the heat transfer from the coil to the box is formed with outwardly turned flanges I6. The quite low, due to the poor thermal conducend walls I2 are formed from sheets of approtivity of air. Accordingly, it` has heretofore been priate size with flanges I1 along the upright mardeemed necessary to solder or otherwise secure gins and a ange It along the bottom edges. the coil to the box throughout its entire extent, When the end pieces are inserted, junction areas thus introducing a' manufacturing operation re- 30 are formed between these flanges and the underquiring skilled workmen and increasing the cost. lying marginal portions of the other walls. As As an alternative, attempts have been made to indicated by the lightly shaded areas designated bolt the coil to the box, but it has been found by the reference numeral I9, the overlapping porthat this expedient is also rather costly, and that tions are tightly secured to each other by welding. it has the further disadvantage 0f warring the 35 Outwardly turned flanges 2l along the tops of the surfaces of the receptacle. ends are located in the same plane as the flanges According to the present invention, there is I6, thus providing a rim which facilitates the provided a tank or box and coil assembly, in positioning of the sheet metal tank in an insuwhich the coil runs are securely held against the lated cabinet. walls of the container, without the necessity for 40 The four upright walls of the tank are encircled continuous soldering, or for puncturing the walls with an expansion coil adapted to provide the to provide unsightly internal bumps or leakage expander or low-side portion of a conventional points. The invention provides for the simulcompressor-condenser-expander type of refrigtaneous securing of the coil passes on adjacent eration circuit. While 'such a coil may be applied sides of the box by means of a multiple gripping 4Q to the tank in various ways, the preferred emclamp, which can be readily applied with attendbodiment shown in the drawings may be 'traced as ant economies in cost. follows. The expander comprises a continuous A typical embodiment of the invention is illuslength of tubing 22 having its inlet end at the top trated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: of the front wall I3, at which point it is provided Fig. 1 is a top plan of a refrigerated receptacle 50 with a coupling member 23, adapted to be conto which the invention is applied; nected to a feed line 2l leading from 'the con- Fig. 2 is a side elevation, a portion of the exdenser (not shown) The feed line is shown in pansion coil being shown in dot and dash line single dot and dash line as being of the capillary to clarify the structure; tube type, but obviously this detail is not of the Fig. 3ds an end elevation, looking from the left 5l essence of the invention, and therefore a. full picof Fig. 2; toria! illustration has not been attempted.

Upon reaching the end wall of the tank, and the previously referred to ilange Il on the wall i2, the tubing 22 is formed with a return or hairpin bend 25, and it then continues to the opposite end wall i2 where it again reverses directio and so on until the lbottom of the box ls approached with the tubing stretch marked 22u. It will be noted that the return bends are formed adjacent the endawalls, and that the successive stretches 22a, 22h, etc., are regularly spaced so as to cover a reasonable portion of the wall surface on the exterior of the box ii.

Having reached the end of its course over the front wall I3, the tubing 22 is now given an upward turn to form a riser section 28 which is generally parallel to and just outside of the flange i'. Upon reaching the top ci the box, the tubing is then turned ninety degrees to pass along and over the end wall i2 in a similar manner. For this PurpOse the flange I1 is formed with a notch 11a, 'as best shown in Fig. 2. The course of the tubing over the end wall is as just described-namely, from one wall to the other through the reverse bends until the bottom has been reached, and thence into the backwall I3 through a riser section, and again as shown and described for the front wall, and finally into the other end wall I2, which is illustrated in Fig. 3.

There is herein illustrated a riser 28a leadlng from the back wall, which passes through a flange notch to provide the successive stretches 21, 21a, etc., to the ilnal stretch 21u, which are connected by return bends 28 similar to the bends 25. Having thus covered the surface with the coil lying as snugly as possible against the box walls, the coil end 2S is then led out for return to the refrigeration compressor.

As indicated by the pair dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, the coil end 29 may be brought upwardly and given a loop 3i and a downward section 32 disposed in heat exchange relationship with the feed line 2l. .As the inclusion or excluslon of the heat interchanger forms no part of the present invention, this detail has also been illustrated generally, and primarily to show how it may be included, ii' desired, without intertering with the remaining portions of the construction.

The means for securing the coil to the box, in such manner as to maintain good thermal contact, comprises four multiple clamps, generally designated by the reference numeral 35, one of which is located at each vertical corner of the container Il. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, each clamp extends from the upper to the lowermost run of tubing, and, as shown in Fig. 4, the clamp in section resembles generally the letter W. The clamp is formed as a bent section, having two internal flanges 36 and 31 which are approximately at right angles to each other, and two wing sections 38 and 35 which make an acute angle with the adjacent internal iiange. When one of the internal anges is positioned against the box wall, the wing ilanges will then be directed inwardly and into engagement with the tubing runs on the two adjacent sides I2 and I3.

It will be noted that, in assembled position. the flange 31 of the clamp 35 abuts the edge of the wall I3, and that the clamp is secured to the tank by a series of screws 4I which pass through the flange 31, the marginal portion of the tank wall, and the flange H of the end wall I2. Prior to assembly, the iiange 31 is formed with a suitable number of holes u, and the ilange l1 and marginal portion of the wall Il are provided with a like number of holes 43a, which, while being at the same elevations as the holes N, are misaligned in the horizontal planes. This is illustrated in Fig. 4a, wherein the centerline C of the tank apertures is shown as initially oilset from the centerline D of the clamp apertures. The angularlty of the wing flange 33 is also such that it would normally overlap the .zone occupied by the tubing 22, as illustrated by the dimension A. When the clamp is applied, and the screws 4I are taken up, the entire clamp is accordingly pulled inwardly, thus forcing the wing flange 39 outwardly, as indicated by the dimension B, to `insure tight engagement with the tubing. At the same time, the wing flange 38 is also forced outwardly, and it accordingly presses its contacted coil sections tightly against the box wall.

Depending upon the extent of actual displacement of the flanges, and the strength of the material, this means of increasing the engagement may cause some noticeable deformation of the edges of the clamp, giving it to a scalloped appearance around the return bends. If desired. the clamp may be initially formed with such scallops, but generally this need not be done, as the resilience of the metal will suillce to provide a good mechanical and thermal bond. It will be seen that each clamp simultaneously secures the coils on two sides of the box, and that hand soldering may be dispensed with.

It will be noted in Fig. 3 that the clamp 35 is formed with a notch I2 at its lower end, to receive the riser 26a, this notch being cut in the outstanding internal flange 3B. The upper end of the clamp is formed with a similar notch 43 in the internal ilange 31 to receive the bend of the riser as it turns at right angles to 4form the coil run 21. Each of the clamps is formed in like fashion, so that the coil may pass from one side of the box to the next. The region between the internal flanges 36 and 31 moreover forms a channel partially containing its associated riser. Due to the flexibility of the coil, the riser section may be slightly displaced during assembly, to admit the tool required to set the securing means 4|.

Depending upon the size o! the box, it may be desirable to provide additional connections along the tubing stretches between the end clamps 35. In Figs. 3 and 5, this is illustrated by the irregular areas Il which represent gobs of any suitable plastic material. such as one ot the so-called cold solders which may be applied without the use of blow torches or the customary soldering irons. Such cold solder may consist of a mixture of asphaltic adhesive, or nitrocellulose cement, or similar plastic material, with graphite or aluminum bronze powder. It should be pointed out, however, that this auxiliary connection need not be employed in all instances, and that the primary reliance for securing the coil is placed on the clamps 35 which simultaneously engage the coils on adjacent sides of the box.

It will be seen that the evaporator assembly ls such as to present a perfectly smooth interior for the container H, inasmuch as no bolts or rivets are required to pass through the box walls, and all the joints and connections are eiiected along the :lange regions Il and Il, which are actually outside of the storage space of the unit. It should also be understood that while the invention has been described with respect to one specic embodiment, numerous modiilcations and changes may be made without departure from portions positioned transversely of each of said walls, adjacent portions of the coil on each wail being interconnected by return bends, and a clamp having an internal ilange portion secured to said outwardly directed ange and wing flanges directed inwardly towards each oi said adjacent walls and engaging the return bend por..

tions of the coil on both walls.

2. An article o1 the class described comprising a sheet metal box having front, back, and end walls, outwardly extending llangesformed at'the corners o1' the box between adjacent walls, a coil positioned outside of the box and in contact therewith, said coil on one wall of the box being disposed back and forth in a series of stretches.

interconnected by return bends, the end of said coil being turned upwardly to connect into a like series of stretches on an adjacent wall, a clamp secured to the outwardly extending flange between adjacent walls and having inwardly directed wing flanges simultaneously gripping Ithe return bends adjacent the junction of said walls, said flanges being formed with notches to receive said upwardly turned end of the coil intermediate the stretches on said adjacent walls.

3. An article of the class described comprising a sheet metal box having iront, back, and end walls, flange portions formed at the junctions oi!` adjacent walls, said walls being interconnected to each other through said flange portions, a wshaped clamp extending along said junction and adjacent said first named box llange portion, said return bends underlying said wing anges and being secured against said wall thereby.

4. An article of the class described comprising a sheet metal box having front, back, and end walls, flange portions formed at the junctions of adjacent walls, a convoluted coil positioned on said walls and including a series Qi return bends disposed adjacentr said flange portions, a wshaped clamp having an internal flange portion abutting said ilrst named wall ilange portion and wing flanges angularly disposed with respect to said internal ilange and engaging the return bends of adjacent walls, apertures formed in said wall ilange and internal flange, and securing means passing through said apertures and to displace the wing flanges into tight engagement with said return bends, thereby to support the tubing on the box walls and force the same thereagainst.

5. An article of the class described comprising a sheetrnetal container having a plurality of walls disposed at angles to each other, a coil of tubing having convolutions interconnected by return bends disposed over adjacent walls, said return bends being positioned on said adjacent walls close to the junction thereof, and a W- shaped clamp having a pair o! internal flanges having an internal flange portion connected to said ilrst named flange portions of the box,l inwardly extending wing flanges on the clamp directed toward the box walls adjacent thereto,

and a convoluted coil positioned on said walls and including a series of return bends disposed REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Y UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,987,422 Steenstrup Jan. 8, 1935 2,126,687 Martin Aug. 9, 1938 2,302,051 Philipp Nov. 17, 1942 2,334,219 Roth Nov. 16, 1943 2,408,805

M1110 et al. .Y Oct. 8, 1946 

